


Shokugeki! Rose and Peaches

by C_Caffeine



Category: NCT (Band), 食戟のソーマ | Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Genre: Backstory, Boys In Love, Cooking, Fluff and Angst, Food, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lee Taeyong Needs a Hug, Love Confessions, M/M, NCT 2018, Polar Star Dormitory (Food Wars!), Soft Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_Caffeine/pseuds/C_Caffeine
Summary: “It’s done Taeyong!” Jaehyun yells, eyes glistening with joy as he hands a jar of jam to Taeyong.“How does it taste?”“I don’t know, but it will be good!”Taeyong takes the jar, eyes set on the younger, “How do you know?”And with a sudden beat, he takes in what Jaehyun says, heart beating to his own realization, “Because I made it, for you hyung.”
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	Shokugeki! Rose and Peaches

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! Hello everyone! I hope you missed me! :( 
> 
> I got sidetracked while writing one of my other fics _(Stay tune! It's like 10K words of smuts, heart ache and basically angst)_ and made this! This is inspired from one of my favourite animes **Shokugeki No Souma**.
> 
> If you want to learn the concept of the anime and better understand this fic, [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Wars!:_Shokugeki_no_Soma) it is!
> 
> _If you happen to not like reading long statements from wikipedia, go to the bottom notes and I'll hook you up!_
> 
> I hope you like this, please give it lots of love! <3 :3

_The judges have decided unanimously, the winner for this ‘shokugeki’ is Nakamoto Yuta, the fifth seat!_

Cheers roared throughout the stadium. Students from all year level whistled and howled with the announcement, watching as the two chefs in the middle of the arena undo their aprons and approach one another.

“It seems your style of cooking isn’t on par with mine, Haechan.” Yuta bites.

Haechan gives him a smile, his posture still confident although his voice was shaky, “I’m happy I fought you, that’s all that matters.”

“Mm, well I hope you had a taste on what fighting a member of the Elite Ten is, ’cause that’s the lasts chance you’ll get.” turning his back away from Haechan as he makes his way towards the side of the arena where a seat is put down for those taking part of this ‘shokugeki’. 

Yuta takes a bottle of water on his way, and plops himself down on the seat, listening to the announcer’s words as the competition progresses.

_The next shokugeki is, oh my god. This is one for the history books._

Majority of the students whispered to one another, trying to figure out what was going on, while the rest stares at the stadium’s gigantic television just above the arena. 

_Up next, a battle between Jung Jaehyun, the underdog of Totsuki, and…_

The crowd goes wild as the television screen flashes a familiar name, almost like a god inside the academy.

_Lee Taeyong! The first seat of the Elite Ten!_

Chants filled the stadium again, and they could see no one sitting. It was an opportunity to see Lee Taeyong fight and cook in such a public event. He was the current first seat, which only means one thing. He is a god in cooking in this academy. Every dish he serves is the symbol of Totsuki’s pride and gem. In all the years Lee Taeyong competed, he never loses. Landslide victory was certain each time Taeyong steps foot in a battle.

_Jung Jaehyun is screwed. He really thinks he can topple the first seat?_

_Jaehyun is an ass to even be here._

_I’m excited to see Taeyong cook. He never accepts a battle that easily, unless it attacks Totsuki’s principle or his own._

Haechan hurries to sit down, trying to ignore the silly statements the audience is blurting out. 

“Here. Guess you got thirsty after your match.” pressing a bottle of water to his stomach.

“Thank you hyung, is Mark here?” Haechan whispers, not wanting the other people sitting nearby to hear.

“Of course, your silly boyfriend is here. He’s up there, I hope you can see him though.” 

And sure enough, Haechan lifts his head and tries to find a familiar face. To his right, then left and immediately he spots him. Waving his hand, smiling like a real silly boyfriend he is. Haechan feels his heart being filled, his defeat means nothing now, since he still has his boyfriend at the end of the day. 

“Johnny-hyung, are you sure Jaehyun is sane for doing this?” cutting back his attention to the elder.

Johnny smiles, his teeth shining while his eyes were to focus on the screen above. 

“Yeah, he is sane. You know Jaehyun, his fight always mean something.” 

Haechan settles beside Johnny, getting some stink eye from the person near him as he nudges them to move. On the screen, the view of Taeyong entering the arena comes in.

Taeyong was, as the people of Totsuki call him, the pride and gem. His style of cooking was always overwhelming that it leaves his opponents stunned the moment his food hits their taste buds. His nickname, the Rose Knight of the White Table, given to him by high-profile chefs and clients. Every food he makes is detailed and finished in a way that makes it like he serves the Goddess of the Culinary World. Like his sole purpose for cooking is to serve the flavors, to make sure it resonates in a way he wants it to. 

Taeyong set his eyes towards his side of the arena, wrapping his apron around his waist as he waits for his opponent to come out. 

When Jaehyun enters, the crowd cheered for him, although a bit less than Taeyong’s. The two stared at each other while the announcement fills the arena.

_The theme for this match is well, going to come from our Director._

A few second goes by and the crowd stayed silent, waiting for the director to speak. He was sitting at the top of the stadium where he could see everything. He is the Director of Totsuki Academy, and fairly old to still be the director.

“I’ve decided on the theme.” He yells.

Haechan glances at Johnny, who was staying still as the moment passes by. Eyes glued to the arena, trying to absorb the battle about to happen.

**“Fruits!”**

As if the word itself was already the winner, the audience howled out of wonder. 

_That’s easy! Taeyong will surely win!_

_They can just make a dessert and Taeyong will obviously be the winner!_

But their joy and clamor eventually dies when the Director follows up, “But I want a dish that isn’t a dessert. I want you two to make a dish worth to Totsuki’s pride!”

Like a flash, the two chefs prepared their ingredients and tools. Taeyong speeds around his kitchen as he slices his fruits while Jaehyun peels his.

“Jaehyun, I hope you keep your promise.” Taeyong finally speaks out.

“I keep my promises, hyung. I hope you do too.” 

Taeyong lets out a giggle, something that is borderline mocking and excited.

“Don’t worry. I’ll win, and with you losing, you’ll be expelled from Totsuki permanently.”

*  
 _  
Taeyong smiles at the younger, brushing his hair while a streak of sunlight peeks through the leaves, shining on their skin._

_“Those are amazing Jaehyun. Will make a great jam!”_

_Jaehyun stares at the fruits on his hands. Although they were a bit bruised cause of the way he picked them, the younger was happy. He was happy to see his hyung smiling._

_“Can we really do that, hyung? Are you not going to school now?”_

_“Not yet, at least. I got time.”_

_Jaehyun’s face lightens up, grateful to have at least a few more hours with his friend. They carry back the fruits to a compact farm house, washing their hands as they prepare to make the jam. The afternoon sun filters through them, making their skin glow while they go on, bickering on what to put inside the jam._

_“But hyung, I really want to use this.”_

_“But Jaehyun, that will not make the jam taste good.”_

_“Please, for me, hyung.”_

_Taeyong giggles, not wanting to argue back since Jaehyun is already doing his puppy eyes. “Okay Jae, slice them up for me then.”_

_The two spent their entire afternoon doing the jam. Laughter fills the air as they enjoy their remaining hours together. Taeyong’s going to college now. Not just any college, but Totsuki Academy. The best culinary school in the world. It took him a few months to accept the offer, because Taeyong knows he isn’t happy going there. Away from his friend, away from Jaehyun._

_“Hyung, are you okay?” Jaehyun ask, noticing the sudden stillness of his friend._

_Taeyong smirks, letting the younger know he is fine. “Come on Jae, you’re lagging.”_

_He thinks his offer from Totsuki is just the academy, knowing he has God’s Tongue. The academy just wants it, not him. It sounds naïve, but Taeyong feels unjust with how things are going. Why does he need to go all the way there? Away from his family? His friends? From Jaehyun. He can master his cooking here, on their farm. He can be happy here. But he knows he can’t argue with his parents. He is their pride and him going to Totsuki will be the greatest achievement he can give to his family._

_“It’s done Taeyong!” Jaehyun yells, eyes glistening with joy as he hands a jar of jam to Taeyong._

_“How does it taste?”_

_“I don’t know, but it will be good!”_

_Taeyong takes the jar, eyes set on the younger, “How do you know?”_

_And with a sudden beat, he takes in what Jaehyun says, heart beating to his own realization, “Because I made it, for you hyung.”  
_

*

Taeyong cooks with such speed and finesses, it looks like an angel floating around the field. He slices his ingredients and finally puts the finished ones into the oven, taking some time to breathe, focusing on the sound his food whispers into him. 

“Taeyong,” his opponent shouts.

With no delay, he looks up to Jaehyun, eyes reflecting curiosity about why he was called.

“When I win, you’ll finally give me a chance to talk to you, right?” 

The older lets out a sigh, rolling his eyes to such an amusing question, “If you win, Jaehyun.”

That was all what Jaehyun needed, a word from his friend. He makes his dish, tossing around cream, butter and spices to his chosen protein, while Taeyong looks at him, judging his way of cooking.

“Don’t worry, Hyung, I’ll make you taste it.” 

Taeyong caught himself laughing. He finds the situation funny. Jaehyun thinks his method of cooking can beat his God’s Tongue? Pathetic, he thinks.

“Jaehyun, don’t be stupid. I never taste anything that’s bad from the start.” 

Opening his oven and the aroma from his dish quickly fills the entire stadium, creating a surge of surprise and hunger from the audience.

“This is how a first seat cooks, Jaehyun. Remember that.” 

He makes his way towards the judges’ table. All well-known personalities in the culinary world. 

“Oh my, I’m finally tasting the first seats’ dish.”

“Control yourself, Lisa, you might drool over the dish before you could even eat it.”

“You two should stop talking, let the gentleman explain his dish.”

He gives them a warm smile, pulling the metallic dome covering his dish, and the waves of powerful aroma cuts deep into the judge’s nose.

“Jesus christ is that?”

“I present my special dish, _‘Beef Pie with Berries and Cashew’_.”

The judges say nothing, all invested into tasting the dish only a first seat and God’s tongue wielder can do.

“I’m shaking, Lisa, what is this feeling…”

“We need to taste it Momo, it’s our job, it’s so overwhelming.”

Taeyong grins at them, his eyes set as the judges take a spoonful of the pie, slowly placing it inside their mouths.

“Bon appétit.”

Like a surge of intimacy, they moan out their satisfaction. Eyes tearing with the intense flavor Lee Taeyong has made. They squirm under their seat. Fidgeting as they try to make their body calm down, but they couldn’t, it was too much. The flavor sips into their nerves, making them cry out for more.

“Lee Taeyong, ugh, this food, how did you,” Lisa, the one sitting on the right of the table asks.

“Lisa, your dress…” Momo warns.

Lisa stares down and quickly covers his breast, shocked on what the food Lee Taeyong has done to him. This is what he does, what the God’s Tongue does.

“Kai, you go first, I need to cover myself.” 

In the middle, Kai stays silent, eyes close while taking in the dish his mouth just devoured.

“Can’t speak, Kai?” Taeyong pries.

Kai breaks down, his eyes glistening with tears. “God. You are a God, Lee Taeyong.” he lets go of his spoon, letting it fall into the table as he tries to stop himself, this food is shaking his core and its tempting him so hard.

“This is what God’s Tongue can do. All of you. Look at what real cooking can do.” Taeyong boast, staring at the camera behind the judges, “Only I can cook for the Gods. I am given the burden, and anyone who dares fight that will know how God’s Tongue retaliates.“

Everyone gawks at the situation. The judges are losing it. They were squirming. Letting the flavor pleasure them was what Lee Taeyong wants his dish to do. Momo, fighting off the intensity of the dish, finally asks Taeyong.

“What, what did you put in here…”

Taeyong looks at her, eyes set to unravel his secret, “Strawberry, blueberries, beef shanks, mint, and cashew."

Kai raises his eyebrow, perplexed with what he just heard, “That’s impossible. How could you mix all of those and still make this god-like dish!?”

“Strawberries and blueberries with beef? That’s unheard of!” Momo adds.

“For someone who doesn’t have God’s Tongue, its unheard of. But I know what I can do,”

Taeyong pulls out a bottle of gold liquid from his aprons pocket, it shimmers from the light and surprises the judges in front of him.

“Honey?” Kai stammers, looking with intent as he fumbles around his thoughts.

“Yes, honey. The unifier of all my ingredients. Honey makes beef tender, yet preserves it flavor. When used with other fruits, it can heighten the sweetness, and if done improperly, will make the dish too sweet. That’s why I added something within the dough for the pie, which is…”

“Turmeric.”

Taeyong smiles, looking behind him as Jaehyun stands idle. “Someone’s attentive, that’s right Jaehyun. It’s turmeric.”

The judges let out another round of gasp, no longer capable of what surprises Taeyong has in his hands. 

“Tur-turmeric? How is that possible!?” Lisa bites.

“Only I can serve food fitting for a God. I know.” Taeyong response.

The judges groan on their sits as the food takes them in, making them moan from pleasure and sure enough, the dish is gone yet they can’t seem to move on.

Taeyong faces Jaehyun, this time with no sign of appreciation for the younger. “Know your place, Jaehyun. You can never beat a God.”

As the words linger, Jaehyun goes back to his side. Waiting for his food to be ready.

“You know, Taeyong. Ever since you went here, you become an ass. But I never let it ruin my memories of you.” With a blink of an eye, Jaehyun serves his dish and giving Taeyong his share.

“I hope you like it, friend.”

*  
 _  
“This isn’t fair! Why do I have to cut them off!” He shrieks._

_“Yong, please understand, this is what’s best for you, for our family.”_

_“You are our pride, Taeyong. Do it for Mama and Papa, okay?”_

_Taeyong fights off his tears while he runs away from his parents. Letting his feet echo across the hallway and slamming his bedroom door shut._

_Why, why do I have to cut them off, why me? He thinks._

_All those years with his friends. Jaehyun, Johnny, Haechan, Mark, Jeno, Jaemin. In an instant, gone. Why is Totsuki doing this to him? What does connection have to do with having God’s Tongue? He can’t take it. He wants to escape this life, this burden._

_But in front of fate, Taeyong could do nothing. It was his parents, after all. How could he disappoint his parents?_

_“Do you agree to go, Lee Taeyong?” one of the academy’s staff asks him._

_He nods, doubt rising in his chest as he pulls his luggage towards the black SUV parked in front of their home. So many voices in his head, yet he can’t find the right one to use. He was voiceless in front of this, he couldn’t fight it._

_“Do good, okay, sweetheart? Make Mama and Papa proud.” Taeyong’s mom whisper into him as she walks beside his son._

_Taeyong, say something, say anything. Tell them you don’t want to. Tell them God’s Tongue is a fucking curse. It’s not for him. Do anything, Taeyong! His mind was racing with it.  
The staff takes his luggage and puts it inside the SUV. His parents have a last talk with the other staffs while Taeyong takes in the last view of this place; the farm he was born and raised into, the valley he loves to see whenever he wakes up, the sun blaring during midday while he plays around the river with Jaehyun, the farm animals he spends time with alongside his friend. This is it, this is goodbye._

_Please, let me reach him, just this once. Jaehyun says while he pushes himself forward. His breathing was getting harder. But he needs to see Taeyong. He needs to say his last words before they separate.  
The sunny morning instantly turns dark, as if it reflected Jaehyun’s emotions. Droplets of water hits him while the ground gets muddy. Tears pools in his eyes, not knowing if he will ever get the chance to say his feelings towards the older. If this will be the last time he can see Taeyong, smell him, hug him, and even listen to him. He wonders if this sting around his eyes is his tears or just the harsh rain hitting him; he prays it’s the latter.   
When he reaches the last corner of the dirt road, he sees the SUV leaving. The rain getting harsher as the pain inside his chest kills him slowly. He never got the chance to say goodbye to his dear friend. To his Taeyong. _

*

Taeyong feels an icy knife hit his chest. What is this smell, he asks himself.

Jaehyun gives him his plate, a sudden memory flooding into his mind as he stares into the dish the younger made.

“I made chicken cordon bleu, for myself, for our memories, Taeyong.”

The judges let the smell sip in them. Acknowledging that this dish has something different, something that somehow surpasses Taeyong’s.

“It looks so simple. But it makes me feel warm and, to be honest, safe?” Lisa exclaims.

Kai and Momo nods in agreement, slicing open the chicken and stuffing their mouth with it. They let out a sigh, a sound that the audience think won’t work well in Jaehyun’s case.

“It’s amazing!” Kai yells.

“This flavor, it’s bringing me back to that day, I…” 

“That day when we were young chefs, right Momo?” 

Students gasp at the remark, confused on what the dish could have to surpass Taeyong’s?

Taeyong stares at the plate given to him, ears still attentive to the remarks from the judges.

“I refuse to eat this.” He argues.

“Why is that, Taeyong?” Jaehyun, now removing his apron and tossing it aside.

“Because it’s not fitting enough for my God’s Tongue. It never will be.”

Jaehyun smiles, although he feels hurt with the statement, he lets it slide. “Okay, if you don’t want to.”

Before Taeyong could put down the plate, Kai says something that rattles his core, “Do you not want to eat it because it isn’t fitting, or is it because it pains you?”

Taeyong glared at the judge, body in a warning position. “Why would something like this pain me, Kai? I know what real food is. This did not make the cut."

Kai stands up, alarming the two women beside him.

“Real food? This is real food, Taeyong. If you cast down your curtain of ego, you’ll know that this is the answer to your hollowness.” Taeyong’s eyes raged with anger. The audacity of a mere judge to call him out, to call a God out. 

“Fine. If your pretentious alibi is on the line, then I’ll taste it, Kai.” 

He takes out a fork and knife from his apron, slicing a portion of the cordon bleu and pushing it down into his mouth.

*

_  
“Director, he doesn’t want to stop.”_

_“What? I told him to take it on his own pace.”_

_Lee Taeyong. That’s who I am. The God’s Tongue. The God of cooking. They sent here me to be a God, so I need to be what they want me to be.  
Cook till you reach the pinnacle, Taeyong. Cook until you overwhelm them with your power. Let them succumb to what God does. This is who you are. _

_“Lee Taeyong won the fourth seat!”_

_“Wow, isn’t he just a freshman?”_

_“Yeah, but he has the God’s Tongue, so that explains a lot.”_

_“Wow, to be in the same academy with the God himself, that’s amazing.”_

_Taeyong fills the loneliness in his heart with the praise and glory. The God. He has no one in this academy but himself, so why suffer alongside this pretentious chefs, when you can rise above them?_

_Soon, the God has turned himself into a weapon of power._

_**  
“Unacceptable. You call yourself a chef but can’t even give me a dish worthy of a god?”** _

_**“Trash.”** _

_**“Kill yourself, you are not a chef.”** _

_**“Disgusting.”** _

_****_

_“Lee Taeyong, he just took, he took the first seat in a landslide win…”_

_“That’s scary, he defeated all the Elite Ten in just one round?”_

_“I’m scared, is he really human?”_

_The praise he received once turned into fear. He was truly a God now. Feared by the weak, respected by the strong. He is no longer Lee Taeyong; he is beyond that._

__

*

“You know hyung, that day when you left. I felt a part of me leave with it.”

Taeyong bends his head down, as a memory of who he was floods into him.

“Jaehyun, what is this taste I’m getting from this sauce?” 

Jaehyun cuts himself away from Taeyong, who remains still, staring at the dish.

“I made the sauce using butter, cream, and a bunch of spice.” 

“But something’s still lingering in my mouth, its so sweet, subtle almost.” Momo interjects while she tries to look around the dish one more time.

Kai and Lisa make the same face. Waiting for an answer from Jaehyun.

“It’s peaches. Right, Jaehyun?” 

Jaehyun smiles again, letting his eyes glitter with happiness, “Yes, hyung, you remember.” Taeyong remembers all right. He remembers that day. When they made the jam.

_  
"Please, just use the peaches hyung.”_

_“Okay okay Jae, but it will make my tongue upset.”_

_“No, it won’t! I promise!”_

_Sure enough, Taeyong was slowly pushing a spoonful of the peach jam into his mouth while Jaehyun shakes in excitement._

_Like a gust of summer air, he tastes the vibrant sweetness of the peach exploring his tongue. It was subtle yet deep enough to make him take another spoonful._

_“You like it!”_

__

“You use something we made during our time together, what makes it that special?!”

“You are not telling one important ingredient here, Jaehyun, mind telling us now?” Kai cuts.

Jaehyun, as he should, finally let out the secret. He searches around for his apron, pulling it out as soon as he feels it.

“This one.”

In its prettiest form, the judges awe at its beauty and the audience follows. “A damask rose. One of the most beautiful roses in the world.” Momo gasp as she takes a sight of the plant.

“It is.” Kai adds.

Taeyong stares at the rose, mesmerize by its beauty and the smell it secretes. He falls down on his knees as a surge of memories hit him again.

“You remember, hyung. The day I give you one.”

__

_“Here, I found it around my house, and thought it was so pretty, it reminded me of you.”_

_Taeyong takes hold of the rose, glimmering in its own color of pink and red._

_“It’s beautiful Jaehyun, thank you.”_

_“No hyung, thank you.”_

__

“All those times, I thought, time was something I could give for both of us. That nothing will ever come in between.”

Taeyong finally sheds a tear. Years of him suppressing his emotions finally takes a blow at this moment. He lets the memories in. The times Jaehyun give him, the times he was smiling and happy to be around his friends.

“When you left, I felt so lost, and alone, hyung. I wanted to yell something to you, hoping that you could hear me inside that SUV.”

The judges whisper into one another, taking in the time as the two chefs share a moment.

“I thought. I was scared and that losing you mean losing a dear friend. But I was wrong.”

_This is a twist of events folks! Truly an event to be written in the history books! The winner of this shokugeki is,_

"I was wrong that I didn’t say I love you ever since I felt it. I was wrong that I hid myself from my desire to have you, to be with you, to have you by my side as we reach our dreams of becoming a chef. To smile at one another in our own home. To see each other every day and still be in love with one another. I was stupid for letting that moment pass. But now I know, and I want to make up for it. The rose is you hyung, and the peaches works well with it. Reminds me of us, the way we used to be.”

_Jung Jaehyun!_

“I just want to say, Lee Taeyong. I love you and I still do.”

**Author's Note:**

> _For those who came from the notes above:  
>  Shokugeki no Souma is basically an anime in which college culinary students fight it out to become great chefs. They do exams and test that will let them showcase their talents and styles._
> 
> _Shokugeki is, in manga terms, a battle between someone in order to get something of equal value.  
>  Elite Ten is the grandest and powerful council of students. They are ten students who have exceptional skills and very strong in their own terms. To get a seat, you either prove yourself or get recommended by the governing body. _
> 
> So, how did you like it? :>
> 
> If you are confuse on some parts, feel free to drop by the comments! i'll passionately answer them. <3
> 
> Again, thank you for reading! Love all of ya~ <3 _I need to sleep huhu_
> 
> _[ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/__bbjohnjaeyong)   
>  CC _


End file.
